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The Agency of Education created the weekly field memo to keep subscribers up-to-date with current education policy, state-wide education initiatives, and official messages from the AOE. The Weekly Field Memo contains education-related posts from the Agency of Education (AOE), other State of Vermont agencies, federal agencies or Vermont's congressional delegation.
Contents: September 27, 2023
- Vermont Public: Clemmons Family Farm
- Family Engagement & Literacy Instruction
- The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21C) Grant Application
- Vermont Public: Young Writers Project Privacy Notice
- Effective Use of Data Professional Learning Opportunities
- Fall Issue of Literary Learning: Vermont’s Newsletter for English Language Arts Educators
- ARP ESSER Summer Grant Application Round Two
- Registration for 2023 Annual VTPBIS Forum
- Vermont School Safety Center
- Literacy Professional Learning Series Launched
- Secretary Search Announcement
Vermont Public: Clemmons Family Farm
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, Teachers
Clemmons Family Farm released a free tutorial video series featuring Vermont grade school teachers and Clemmons Family Farm teaching artists explaining how they use Joy in Motion! with their students. Joy in Motion! is a special edition of Clemmons Family Farm’s Windows to a Multicultural WorldTM curriculum for grades K-12. Windows to a Multicultural WorldTM is Clemmons Family Farm’s arts-integrated African American history and culture program for grades K-12 that includes an online digital curriculum with downloadable handouts for teachers and students, live and pre-recorded teaching artist engagements, and field trips for grade school students to the historic Clemmons farm in Charlotte, Vermont.
Contacts: Emily Leute, emily.leute@vermont.gov or Heather Duhamel, hduhamel@vermontpublic.org
Family Engagement and Literacy Instruction
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Afterschool Directors, Literacy leaders
The AOE has space for SU/SD interested in family literacy engagement and small group instruction programming with Springboard Collaborative this winter and spring. To learn more, contact Act 28 (literacy) Project Manager Emily Lesh at Emily.Lesh@Vermont.gov and complete an interest form by October 31, 2023 for winter programming
Contact: Emily Lesh, emily.lesh@Vermont.gov
The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21C) Grant Application
Audience: All
The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21C) Grant Application, with an estimated annual available minimum of $3,000,000, is now open for the purpose of providing comprehensive high-quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities. Investments are for five years. Virtual applicant trainings for teams will be held on October 11 (Part 1) and November 9, 2023 (Part 2) from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. Letters of Intent (electronic) are due November 22, 2023. Applications are due February 2, 2024 in the GMS system. The application will become available in the GMS system on September 29, 2023. To view a paper copy of the entire grant application and materials go to the AOE 21C webpage. To get on the applicant mailing list and to register for trainings please complete a Competition Contact Form. You may also view the 21C quick eligibility checker.
Contact: Emanuel Betz, 21C State Coordinator, at emanuel.betz@vermont.gov 802-881-4426
Vermont Public: Young Writers Project (YWP) Privacy Notice
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Teachers
The Vermont Agency of Education and Vermont Public recently announced new resources on the Young Writers Project’s new website. Please be advised that schools supporting this program by having students use school devices, networks, or email accounts, or conduct work during school hours for submission to the YWP website, must secure parental permission or risk being in violation of FERPA rules. The public sharing of student work under the auspices of the school without parental permission violates FERPA’s School Official Exemption and applies to all dependent students. A parental permission form can be found on the YWP website.
Contact: Lisa Helme, lisa.helme@vermont.gov
Effective Use of Data Professional Learning Opportunities
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, and K-12 Educators
This free workshop, Designing Effective Data-Driven Professional Learning Communities, will provide the guidance, materials, and planning time for your schools or districts to establish and maintain highly effective collaborative data-inquiry teams that lead to more targeted instruction. Systematic Use of Data to Improve Student Learning is designed for educator teams and their leadership to build an insightful data-use culture, where all teachers and administrators regularly and collaboratively leverage a variety of assessments to improve student learning and teacher practices. Registration for the workshop and course is open.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons, pat.fitzsimmons@vermont.gov
Fall Issue of Literary Learning: Vermont’s Newsletter for English Language Arts Educators
Audience: English Teachers, Literacy Coaches
The Fall issue of the quarterly newsletter, Literary Learning, is now available. This issue contains articles about code- and meaning-based literacy instruction and an opportunity to support the development of proficiency scales. The fall issue also features information about new professional learning opportunities, including the launch of our literacy modules, as well as resources to support the good work you are doing. Be sure to subscribe to the Agency’s ELA listserv in order to stay informed about ELA and literacy in Vermont.
Contact: Emily Leute, emily.leute@vermont.gov
ARP ESSER Summer Grant Application Round Two
Audience: All
A Second Round of the ARP-ESSER Summer Grant Application is coming in the GMS system. This $660,000 grant program is a part of the Agency's larger education recovery and revitalization work. Funding is available for the creation of new or the expansion of existing summer programs. All LEAs will be eligible to apply. More information about this grant and previous rounds is available on the AOE website. Applications are due January 4, 2024 and awards will be announced February 1, 2024. Interested parties can sign up to our non-binding contact form to receive updated information about training and technical assistance in the coming months.
Contact: Johannes Haensch, johannes.haensch@vermont.gov
Registration for 2023 Annual Vermont Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (VTPBIS) Forum
Audience: Educators, Support Staff, School Administrators, SEL Professionals, Mental Health Professionals
Is your school looking for the best ways to support students in social, emotional, behavioral learning and well-being to achieve high academic and social outcomes? Consider exploring the newest thinking about PBIS by attending the Intro to PBIS session at the upcoming VTPBIS Annual Forum on October 12 in Killington. Participants will learn about the PBIS Framework, including data, systems, and practices used to ensure the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of all students, staff, and families/caregivers.
Contact: Anne Dubie, anne.dubie@uvm.edu
Vermont School Safety Center
Audience: Superintendents, Principals and School Crisis Planning Stakeholders
The Vermont School Safety Center is pleased to announce the September “What If” Wednesday, Volume V 2023. The “What if Wednesday” school safety training tools are designed to educate and inform school safety stakeholders on recent topics in school safety and security and to test and evaluate staff on their ability to appropriately respond to a number of school based incidents.
Contact: Robert Evans, VT School Safety Liaison Officer, revans@cosecure.com or (802) 839-0448
Literacy Professional Learning Series Launched
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Curriculum Directors, Teachers, Special Educators, and all educators
The first module in AOE’s new literacy professional learning series, Building a Strong Foundation for Lifelong Literacy Success, is live and available to all Vermont educators. Register for Pepper, the new AOE Learning Management System (LMS) hosting the series, to begin taking Module 1: Understanding the Neuroscience of Reading. The module will take 6-8 hours to complete, and you can download a certificate of completion at the end.
Contact: Emily Lesh, Act 28 Project Manager, emily.lesh@Vermont.gov
Secretary Search Announcement
Audience: All
The Vermont State Board of Education announced that the position for Secretary of Education has been posted with an application deadline of October 5, 2023. Part of the Board’s hiring process will include a public hearing on October 2. The State Board of Education will hold a public hearing for any and all Vermonters to share their perspectives on what qualities and attributes they hope to see in the next Secretary of Education.
Contact: Lyle Jepson, lyle.jepson@vermont.gov